


It Should've Been Me

by Mythicaldemigod



Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Category: The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek - Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal
Genre: Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26920930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythicaldemigod/pseuds/Mythicaldemigod
Summary: Day 9: Take me InsteadIt's been years since the events at Whitewood Reformatory School, but Rex still has some doubts about how it all went down.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948627
Kudos: 2





	It Should've Been Me

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the writing in italics, that's direct quotation from the book. Hope this doesn't suck too much

_His shirt was stuck._

_Rex reached down, grasping at Leif’s collar, trying to rip the fabric. They locked eyes as Leif lurched backwards._

_Whitewood had him by the leg._

_He did nothing, watching as Whitewood tied Leif’s hands behind his back and walked him deeper into the woods._

_“Rex!” Leif shouted. “Help! Please!”_

_“I will,” he yelled, slowly backing away from the fence, “I promise!”_

Rex McClendon shot up from his position, sleeping on the Nelson’s floor. The room was still dark, nobody else had woken up yet. Through the darkness, he could make out Leif passed out on the couch, Alicia beside him. He rubbed at his eyes and wiggled forward quietly to read the numbers on Leif’s watch. 6:00am.

He slowly raised his hands to wipe at his eyes, he hadn’t even realized he’d been crying. It had been so long since he’d thought about what had happened their freshman year. He was fairly certain he was the only one out of the group that still had nightmares about it. He stood, wandering to the door and slowly slipping out. He tucked his hands into his sweatshirt pockets.

He needed to get some air. ‘I’ll be back before they even wake up’, he thought, looking around tiredly as he walked.

The dream had shaken him up way more than it really should have. Sent shivers down his spine, even though he was wearing his warmest sweater. They never talked about the Whitewood school anymore. They’d never really spoken that rule, but somehow it had become an unspoken rule. What had happened back there was terrible for everyone involved and moving past it just made sense for everyone involved. Especially Leif and Alicia.

They actually had reasons to have nightmares. They actually had to be inside that horrible school. They actually had to deal with the worst it had to offer.

It was at moments like this, where he was alone, that he could admit what he was too scared to ever say to his friends.

“They should’ve taken me instead.” He mumbled, as he walked along the road, kicking pebbles and stones. There was no sound of cars, the whole town seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for him to continue what he was going to say. “I should’ve been the one in that school. Not Leif. Not Alicia.”

The sound of footsteps behind him shocked him out of his reverie, just in time to brace himself for Leif jumping on his back. He let out a cry of surprise, rolling his eyes as Leif laughed triumphantly.

“Stop that. My back’s still sore…” Rex shrugged him off, his friend huffed. Leif had grown a lot since back then, as had he. Both emotionally and physically.

“Your back is always sore.” His friend pointed out, wiping his glasses with his blue school sweater. Rex shrugged. He had a point, because of his height, he was always having back problems. Sometimes he felt like he was way older than he really was.

“What are you even doing out here?” Leif placed his glasses back on his nose. Rex said nothing, hoping the silence would speak for itself.

The two stood in silence for a few moments. He wondered briefly what Leif was thinking about. Graduation in a month? Prom? Alicia? The movie they were working on?

“You’re thinking about Whitewood again.” Leif finally said, cutting through the silence. The taller boy turned; surprise clearly evident on his face. He hadn’t expected Leif to say that all, much less so casually.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently too…” He admitted when he saw Rex’s expression. He began walking, glancing around as if to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation, even though nobody else was even out. “Rex. As soon as we can, we’re getting out of here. We’ll go to LA; we’ll go to New York. Anywhere else but here. We won’t have to look at all of this anymore, reminding us of it.”

“We?” Rex asked, following Leif’s gaze in the direction of where the Whitewood school had been when it’d operated.

“You. Me. Alicia if she wants to, but I won’t force her. She probably has her own path.” Leif wrapped his arms around himself.

There was more silence, they walked. Rex considering the information that had been presented to him and Leif imagining all the amazing things they could do after they graduated.

“It should’ve been me too. I shouldn’t have let you go. I should’ve been there too.”

He’d never told Leif or Alicia that he thought this way, he knew they’d shut him down. They’d tell him he was being ridiculous. But something told him he needed to say it aloud to someone.

“You’re our hero, Rex. We needed you to be where you were. Without you, we would’ve never made it.” He finally said, speaking slowly as if he was picking and choosing his words carefully. “You’re like the rocks. Firm, steady. You never change, that experience didn’t change you like it did to Alicia and me. It’s nice to have that.”

Rex wrapped his arm around his friend’s shoulders, ignoring the protests of his disgusting body odor.

“We’re always going to be friends, right?” He asked as they turned around to head back to the Nelson house before Alicia realized they were gone. Leif shoved his arm away.

“Of course, where else are we going to go?” He grinned


End file.
